Judges
Chapter 6

Midian opressess Israel

6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.
6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel [and] because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
6:3 And [so] it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude ; [for] both they and their camels were without number and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites ; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD.
6:7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites,
6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, which said to them, This says the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage ;
6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land ;
6:10 And I said to you, I [am] the LORD your God ; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ya'll stay but ya'll have not obeyed my voice.

Gideon and the angel

6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] to Joash the Abiezrite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.
6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD [is] with ya'll , you mighty man of valour.
6:13 And Gideon said to him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where [be] all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt ? but now the LORD has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this your might, and you will save Israel from the hand of the Midianites have not I sent ya'll ?
6:15 And he said to him, Oh my Lord, by which shall I save Israel ? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father's house.
6:16 And the LORD said to him, Surely I will be with ya'll , and you will strike the Midianites as one man.
6:17 And he said to him, If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that you talkest with me.
6:18 Depart not for this reason, I pray ya'll , until I come to ya'll , and bring forth my present, and set [it] before ya'll . And he said, I will tarry until you come again.
6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought [it] out to him under the oak, and presented [it].
6:20 And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay [them] upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that [was] in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes ; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
6:23 And the LORD said to him, Peace [be] to ya'll ; fear not you will not die.
6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom to this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the grove that [is] by it
6:26 And build an altar to the LORD your God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you will cut down.
6:27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said to him and [so] it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do [it] by day, that he did [it] by night.
6:28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that [was] by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar [that was] built.
6:29 And they said one to another, Who has done this thing ? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.
6:30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the grove that [was] by it.
6:31 And Joash said to all that stood against him, Will ya'll plead for Baal ? will ya'll save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst [it is yet] morning if he [be] a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] has cast down his altar.
6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.
6:33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet ; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
6:35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh ; who also was gathered after him and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali ; and they came up to meet them.

Gideon's signs

6:36 And Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by mine hand, as you have said,
6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor ; [and] if the dew be on the fleece only, and [it be] dry upon all the earth [beside], then shall I know that you will save Israel by mine hand, as you have said.
6:38 And it was so for he rose up early the next day, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
6:39 And Gideon said to God, Let not your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once let me prove, I pray ya'll , but this once with the fleece ; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
6:40 And God did so that night for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Judges Index || Main Index

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10

Chapter 11 || Chapter 12 || Chapter 13 || Chapter 14 || Chapter 15 || Chapter 16 || Chapter 17 || Chapter 18 || Chapter 19 || Chapter 20

Chapter 21